Many a young British traveller claims to have found themselves during a year abroad; perhaps Owen Farrell really has. It is a Monday evening in Melbourne, and Farrell is sitting at Marvel Stadium as a British and Irish Lions captain, a situation that feels remarkable given his initial omission from the tour party. It may only be the midweek meeting with the First Nations & Pasifika XV for which Farrell has been installed as skipper but across an illuminating half-hour, the qualities that have made him such a valuable late addition become perfectly clear.
The focus, the winning edge, the emphasis on the team – they do not come as a surprise. The joviality and a willingness to open up about a tricky 18 months? That’s rather more unexpected. This is, of course, a figure known for being publicly more taciturn than talkative, as guarded an individual as one will come across in rugby. But as he bares sections of his soul, and cracks jokes about the antics of his Canberra roommate Henry Pollock, this is a different Farrell – one, pleasingly, in a far better headspace than the player who stepped away from England duty after the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
“I just got asked to come on tour and I thought I’d love to,” Farrell explains. “I went and did something different for a while, and I’m coming back now, but it was just where I was at the time and the opportunity that was there. I wanted to take it and I’m glad I’m here.
“I appreciated my time in France. It obviously didn’t go well and I was injured for a large period of it but I don’t regret it. I’m happy with being back. There’s loads left in me and I’m just determined to enjoy it. I’m really enjoying this tour.”
Ostensibly, the playmaker is here to talk about tomorrow’s tour encounter, but he and all involved are aware of the questions likely to come. It is the first time that the 33-year-old has spoken at length since being summoned after the injury to Elliot Daly, a call that plenty in rugby expected to come but still met with plenty of noise.
Farrell junior fielded his father’s call while on the golf course celebrating the testimonial of old Saracens chum Jackson Wray – “it was his testimonial about four years ago, but he still had a golf day”, Farrell quips. Having snuck away from playing partner Alex Goode, the decision to accept the call-up came quickly, despite a sabbatical from England duty that is still, technically, ongoing.
He arrived here not laden with an expectation of earning a Test shirt but simply to do his best for the team. Naturally, the drive to be the best never dims but Farrell himself concedes that he is touring with a different mindset than how he’d have dealt with this situation five years ago. “I think the most important thing is that I come here, be myself, help and then see where that goes,” he says. “And genuinely, I’m not saying that but don’t mean it. I mean it. We’ll see what happens.”
Several times he is pressed on a possible England return; several times he gently brushes it away. A move back to Saracens after his struggles with Racing 92 will again make him available to Steve Borthwick – with three English fly-halves on tour in Australia, but new centurion George Ford in as good a form as any of them, big decisions loom.
That discussion can wait, though, for Farrell has not fully made up his mind what comes next. What he knows, though, is that he is enjoying his rugby deeply in Australia, having joined a select group of four-time tourists. Tuesday’s match in Melbourne will be his 20th in Lions red – for a squad short of those who have experienced a proper tour, the acuity accumulated is invaluable. Farrell is clear, though, that his goal is to make the most of his time in Australia.
How does he do that? “Take it for what it is,” he suggests. “Have some perspective. There are obviously a lot of external factors that can creep in but ultimately, it’s up to me how I am. Making sure I’m looking after myself, making sure I’m giving myself a break at times.
“I’m not someone who needs revving up too much. It’s normally the other way of coming back down and relaxing. So having some perspective and making sure I look after myself in that way will, I think, lead to me being more myself.”
It is encouraging to hear Farrell talk in such terms after stepping away from the international arena to prioritise his mental wellbeing in November of 2023. Again, though, his call-up for this trip was met with a reaction beyond that which would have been received by any other player. Does Farrell understand why he generates such strong opinions in each direction? “Not really.” What does he make of the social media praise and criticism? “Both are a poison. The good and the bad. That’s not to say that it’s all bad, but the things that should matter to me and should matter to us as players are the people that matter to us.
“If you go and knock on someone’s door and ask them their opinion of how you played at the weekend, you wouldn’t really listen to their answer. The people that I think we should listen to are the proper rugby people. Your mates. Not to say people will just pat you on the back, you know that you have people who will tell you how it is but they’ll give you a real answer. I think if you do that and you’re in a good place yourself, then you can deal with it.”
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